3 Steps to Outsell Everyone Using Instagram

Time for a trick question.

Imagine you’re a fitness expert. You’re trying to sell your personal training services for $100 per hour (not unreasonable in a big city like Miami, New York, Toronto, London, or Los Angeles).

But there are dozens of other trainers at your gym, and thousands in the city.

Now imagine you’re Jillian Michaels, the famous personal trainer from “The Biggest Loser.”

All else being equal, who is going to have an easier time selling the $100-per-hour sessions?

Jillian?

No, it’s you.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Jillian is the TV star. She’s the celebrity.

Celebrity gives you the freedom to charge more for what you offer—and prospects will buy because they automatically know and trust you, even if they haven’t met you.

But here’s the twist.

You can become a bigger celebrity than Jillian Michaels.

These days, the tools are available to all of us.

Instagram (aka IG), the fastest growing social media network, offers proof.

While Jillian Michaels has 1.2 million followers on IG, a young fitness expert from New York named Jen Selter has over 12 million followers. That’s right, a woman who has never had her own TV show now has built up 10X the celebrity of Jillian Michaels, a fitness expert who was on prime time for a decade. More people follow Jen daily than watched the weekly episodes of “The Biggest Loser.”

In today’s world, you don’t have to be on television to become a celebrity and generate massive influence over your audience. You can manufacture celebrity from the comfort of your home while wearing your underwear and using an iPhone.

I’ve done it (although I wore shorts). And when I did, I became famous. (One of my homemade YouTube videos recently reached 3 million views.)

Through the creation of value-driven content, my manufactured celebrity earned me the trust and respect of my viewers, and made it easier for me to sell my exercise programs.

“Sure, Craig,” you’re probably saying. “I’ll just go out there and become a celebrity overnight. How hard can it be?”

Actually, not that hard. Like so many things, there’s a formula for it. And if you stick with it, you’ll see a dramatic change in your bottom line—because you’ll become a well-known, trusted resource in your community.

While there are many ways to build celebrity (such as YouTube), today I want to focus on Instagram. This platform has helped me reach thousands of people I never would have had the privilege of helping 10 years ago—all because I committed to building my “digital celebrity.”

Here’s how I did it, and how you can, too:

1. Show up and add value

As Woody Allen put it, decades before the Internet was a thing: “80% of success is showing up.”

That was true in the past and true today. If you want to build celebrity and make your sales process easier, you need to start by showing up.

My following has grown fast since I began consistently posting stories and photos, and hosting IG “lives” (live videos on IG).

If you create a rhythm, people will come to expect your presence and you will become an industry go-to.

Even people who have never interacted with you will see your comments, friends’ shares of your posts, and ads. When you show up, people can share your content. But if you don’t show up, you’ll get no shares, no celebrity, and no sales. Got it? Good.

You also need to make every post purposeful. There should be value in both the image (or video) and the caption underneath it. You should ask questions to encourage comments, and tell your followers to tag others (getting more viewers to your content).

Over time, consistently publishing valuable content will separate you from 99% of other IG users. Your competitors are likely not posting consistently, and even if they do, they are not posting valuable content. That’s why they will miss out—and why you will become an IG favorite.

2. Don’t skip IG stories

While it’s important to post on all IG outlets (feed, stories, lives, and TV), stories are a unique way to convey personality and status. Let people into your world, showing them the personality behind your business.

Years ago, email marketing gurus like Matt Furey and Mark Ford excelled at this. Today, it’s become even easier to accomplish through Instagram, particularly with video.

Video is the best for this because it allows you to address an audience in a very personal way, while also adding text overlays, polls, emojis, and other stylized elements—all of which increase engagement, show your personality, and reiterate your key message.

An added bonus: You can repurpose these videos on Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn for greater reach. And if the content is solid enough, you can also turn the videos into blog posts for your site. (Always leverage your efforts for maximum exposure!)

Of all of the outlets for IG, this is the best way to share a message, get more personal, and encourage engagement. Plus, with the repurposing opportunity, you’re essentially creating a magnified presence in 5-10 online spaces. That’s the key to building celebrity quickly!

3. Be unique

I already mentioned the value of sharing your personality on IG, but there’s something truly valuable about this element of social media. The more unique and valuable you can be to your viewers, connecting your personal brand with a unique product or service, the more intrigued your following will be.

Think about it: Nobody wants to see what you ate for dinner (unless you’re a nutrition expert). People want something to talk about. They want to be entertained and educated through your posts. Go the extra mile, do the work, and show up consistently with unique, valuable content, and you’ll stand out on IG amongst a sea of wannabes.

Here’s the bottom line:

Instagram is taking over from Facebook. IG is in its Golden Days. Now is the time to jump on board and take advantage of this exceptional marketing platform to grow your personal brand and build your business. When you offer both unique personality AND a unique product, you’ll get the attention of the masses.

Years ago, Jen Selter was just another college grad with an iPhone. Today, she’s the most influential woman in the fitness world. She sells more exercise programs than all of “The Biggest Loser” trainers combined.

If that’s not proof that Instagram is the biggest and best of all media (not just social media), I don’t know what is.

Just imagine what an IG account and iPhone can do for your business. Don’t wait any longer. Follow me on IG and I’ll teach you what you can do to grow your ‘gram—and your business.

With these three steps as your foundation, celebrity and sales will soar.

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